Coast Guard crews free tugboat, barge near Absecon Inlet

After several hours, crews from the the Coast Guard's Atlantic City and Delaware Bay stations were finally able to refloat a barge and tugboat that ran aground Sunday near Absecon Inlet.

According to a statement from the Coast Guard, the boat lost power sometime Saturday.

"The 77-foot Miss Katie experienced a loss of power Saturday and ran aground north of the Absecon Inlet, and the 135-foot barge drifted and ran aground on the south side of the north jetty," the Coast Guard said in a statement Sunday.

Initially, crews from the Coast Guard's Atlantic City station arrived Saturday with the intention of assisting the tugboat and barge, but due to weather conditions, crews had to suspend operations until Sunday.

"Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay's Incident Management Division oversaw salvage and pollution prevention operations of the tug and barge today on Brigantine Beach, New Jersey," Lt. j.g. Terry Plank, the federal on-scene coordinator representative, said in a statement. "Both the tug and barge were successfully removed from the beach and jetty respectively. No injuries occurred, and no discharge of fuel or oil was observed during this incident. The local police and contractors played a significant role in the overall success of the operation, and we are thankful to all crews involved."

The barge was carrying construction equipment, including a large crane.

The investigation is being investigated by the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay.

Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor for news at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.